Feb 03, 2009

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Cast

Dakota Fanning Jennifer Hudson Queen Latifah

Studio

2008 Twentieth Century Fox

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Synopsis

Runaway Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) thinks she has found the sweet life when she and her friend Rosaleen Daise (Jennifer Hudson) take refuge with three sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo) who operate a honey business. But a white girl living with the black family in 1964 South Carolina soon draws attention and the fourteen-year-old finds herself facing the sting of racial prejudice, as well as revisiting the bitterness of her past.

Content Details

Why Is The Secret Life of Bees Rated PG-13?

The Secret Life of Bees is rated PG-13 or thematic material and some violence.

Here is additional information on sex, violence and profanity in The Secret Life of Bees...

Serious themes of domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse (no sexual abuse is implied) as well as racial prejudice are explored. A character commits suicide by drowning after succumbing to overwhelming grief (the body is shown). A man and wife wrestle during a domestic dispute, which escalates when a gun is introduced. After the weapon is dropped during the ensuing struggle, it is picked up by a young child and accidentally fired. Although a death results, only a gunshot is heard. A father harshly punishes his daughter by pushing her around and forcing her to kneel for an extended time on a grit-covered floor causing her knees to bleed. Two black characters are harassed and beaten by whites. Both sustain injuries including bruises, bloody cuts and abrasions. An interracial romantic interest develops between teens (brief kisses are exchanged). Several passionate kisses are shown. A father questions his daughter’s sexual behavior, and an unwed pregnancy is mentioned. A character is shown drinking alcohol.The script includes some mild and moderate profanities, along with the use of terms of Christian Deity as expletives.

Home Video Viewing Alternatives

Here are some ideas for home video titles that are related to The Secret Life of Bees.

Another young girl yearns to know about the mother she never knew in the movie Because of Winn Dixie. As unlikely as it first appears, the home of two elderly bachelor uncles proves to be a safe harbor for a boy deserted by his mother in Secondhand Lions. The injustices of racial prejudice are also depicted in the classic film To Kill A Mockingbird.

Canadian Movie Ratings

BCSKPGViolence, Coarse Language

ABPGCoarse Language, Not Recommended For Young Children

MBPGMature Theme.

ON14ALanguage May Offend. Disturbing Content.

QCG

NBNSNLPEPG

Canadian Home Video Rating: PG

Watch @ Home

Details on home video releases of The Secret Life of Bees...

The Secret Life of Bees buzzes onto DVD in wide screen with a whole hive of bonus materials. These include: the theatrical cut of the film, a Directors Extended Cut, eight deleted scenes, two audio commentaries (one with director/writer Gina Prince-Bythewood, producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Joe Pichirallo, and actors Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, the other with director/writer Gina Prince-Bythewood and editor Terilyn Shropshire) and featurettes (The World Premiere, The Women And Men Of The Secret Life Of Bees, Bringing The Secret Life of Bees To The Big Screen and Inside The Pink House With Sue Monk Kidd). Audio tracks are available in 5.1 Dolby Surround (English), and Stereo (Spanish), with subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

The Secret Life of Bees is also releasing to Blu-ray, with all of the aforementioned extras. The film is presented in wide screen format on a 50GB dual-layer disc authored in BD-J with AVC (MPEG 4) compression with 5.1 DTS HD Lossless Master Audio (English) and 5.1 Dolby Digital (French / Spanish).This edition of the film offers an extra featurette, Beekeeping 101.

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